Badminton in the East Bay has been absolutely terrific this year, especially for Mission San Jose, Newark Memorial and Mt Eden.

The three local schools blew past competitors at the NCS Championships at Piner High School in Santa Rosa on Saturday, May 16. They were able to snag the top three team spots.

Mission San Jose won the combined team championships with 144 points. The powerhouse squad qualified 12 individuals spots of the 25 allotted. Nearly every MSJ player came home with an individual championship.

The MSJ Warriors were truly dominant over the past two weeks. They handily won the Mission Valley Athletic League (MVAL) title over a tough Newark Memorial team the previous week.

Newark Memorial had four individuals at the meet and two of them won as the team finished in second with 57 points. Lien Diem won her third title in as many years and Dennis Diem was second. "It was almost the best possible situation," Coach Victor Wong of Newark Memorial said.